Method of making wheel trim



G. A. LYON 0 2,413,329

METHOD OF MAKING WHEEL TRIM Original Filed April 10, 1944 Patented Dec. 31, 1946 UNiTED STATES PATENT @E'HQE 539,356. Divided and this application January 12, 1945, Serial No. 572,541.

This invention relates to a novel method of making a wheel trim and more particularly to a method of making multiple wheel covers out of plastic strip.

The subject-matter of this application has been divided from mycopending application,.Serial No. 530,356, filed April 10, 1944.

.An object of this invention is to provide a simplified method of manufacturing wheel trim out of plastic material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of making plastic wheel trim out of strip stock wherein a maximum of the stock can Claims. (01. 18-475) be utilized in the trim With substantially little or no waste.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a series of interlocked composite wheel trim from a common ring of plastic.

In accordance with the general features of this invention there is provided a method of making a wheel trim out of relatively thin plastic material which includes the steps of imparting the desired transverse cross-sectional configuration to the material, severing the material into pieces of prescribed length, joining the ends of such pieces to form an annulus of prescribed diameter having the initially formed transverse cross-sectional configuration and severing the annulus around the generally axial central portion thereof to provide a pair of substantially identical cover members in which each has a plurality of axially extending wheel engaging spaced portions.

A further feature of the invention relates to the attachment of metal clips to the spaced portions of the aforesaid members whereby each of the members may be self-retained on a wheel.

Other objects and features of this invention will more fully appear from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates a single embodiment of wheel trim made in accordance with my method and in which Figure l is a side elevation of a wheel structure embodying the features of the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line II-II Of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows and showing clearly how the cover retainin means co-operates with the wheelparts in the openings. of the wheel;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional View corresponding to a portion of Fig: ure. 2 other than asection taken through the rim. at the valve stem but showing clearly how the.

' such, for example, as 3 ro 4. In other Words the i retaining fingers engage the wheel body in the openings of the wheel; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary diagrammatic sectional view showing how my novel wheel trim may be fabricated from plastic stock with a minimum of Waste.

As shown on the drawing:

It is believed that my invention may be best understood from the following description of an article of wheel trim made in accordance with my novel method.

The reference character 9 designates generally a conventional type of'pneumatic tire co-operable in the usual way with the conventional so-called drop-center type of metal tire rim designated by the reference character ill.

The tire rim It), as is well known inv the art, is suitably attached, as by means of welding, riveting or otherwise, to a metallic stampinggcomprising a wheel body which in this instance is designated by the reference character II.- This wheel body, at the intermediate intervals where it is not attached to the base flange of the rim, is provided with wheel openings I2, which, as is well known in the art, aficrd ventilation for the brake drum of the wheel.

The wheel body part II is of a shell-like configuration and hasa centrally depressed flangel3 which isadapted to be secured by cap screws, belts or the like (not shown) to a support on a vehicle such as on an axle of awheel. This flange may be bolted to a. brake drum or the like and in fact any suitable means may be provided for-attaching it to the wheel.

Co-operating with the centrally depressed section of the wheel body part' H is a metallic hub cap designated generally by the reference character l4 and which includes as a component thereof an underturned skirt which has a continuous resiliently expansible and contractible edge 16 adapted to be snapped over a plurality of retaining humps ll formed on the wheel body part continuous edge snapped or cammed into retaining engagement withthe bumps I! which are arranged in a com.- mon circle and may be of, any suitable number,

springy, edge 16 is pressed over and behind the bumps I? so as to detachably hold the hub cap.

on the wheel. This hub cap may beeasily removed from the wheel, by prying it off through The hub cap l4 and the means for retaining iton the wheel are now well knownin the art. Thismetal hub cap by reason'of its resilient flexible I6 is adapted to be axially.

the instrumentality of a suitable tool such as a screw driver. Any suitable ornamentation may be given the hub cap such, for example, as a lustrous external finish or the like.

My invention is particularly concerned with the provision of a circular trim 20 for concealing the exposed outer side surfaces of the flanges of the tire rim l and for ornamenting the wheel by providing a novel cooperation between the same and the tire 9 on the rim. I,

This trim ring 20 is in accordance with the features of this invention made of relatively thin resiliently flexible plastic sheet such, for example, as ethyl cellulose. It may be fabricated in the manner to be described hereinafter in connection with Figure 4.

The trim is in the form of an annulus and is of a channeled configuration so that it presents a concave-convex contour. The radial depth of this ring together with its curvature are such as to cause the ring to appear to be a continuation of the side wall of the tire. This effect is also augmented by havin the outer edge of the ring terminate adjacent the side wall of the tire. As shown at 2|, the outer edge is offset rearwardly so as to overhang to a slight extent the outer edge of the tire rim ID.

I have found that by giving this trim ring a suitable external finish such, for example, as white or eggshell it is caused to appear to be a white side wall portion of the tire. In other words, it causes the tire to have a more massive appearance since the tire appears to extend clear down to the body part I I The inner periphery of the annular trim 20 is provided with a pluraltiy of axially extending spaced projections 22 which may be in the same number as that of the wheel openings 12. As shown in Figure 4, there are four wheel openings and four projections 22 can be accommodated thereby, one for each wheel opening. These projections are formed integral with the body'of the trim and may be fabricated for example in the manner to be described in connection with Figure 4.

As best shown in Figure 3, each of the projections 22 has fastened to its radially inner surface a spring clip designated generally by the reference character 23. It should be noted that the projections 22 extend rearwardly through the wheel openings I2 and along the under-surface of the base flange of the tire rim Ill.

The spring clip 23 embraces two legs 24 and 2B which generally extend in the same direction. The leg 24 is fastened in any suitable manner to the under-surface of the projections 22 as by means of a, rivet 25 or the like. The leg 26 is turned back over the leg 24 and has its free extremity provided with a hump 21 adapted to be cammed over an inner edge 28 of the wheel body which cooperates in defining the associated wheel opening l2.

The arrangement of the clips are such that the trim may be easily applied to the wheel by first aligning it with the wheel and with the projections in register with the respective wheel openings I2 and by thereafter pressing it axially so that the clips 23 are caused to enter the wheel openings and to be cammed over the rear edge 28 into retaining cooperation therewith as best shown in Figure 3.

The centering of the trim on the wheel may be facilitated by providing an opening 29 (Figure 2) in the trim through which the valve stems of the tire or tube is adapted to extend. Thus, by first 4 lining up the trim with the valve stem it is possible to thereby likewise line up the projections 22 with the wheels openings 12.

In the retention of the trim on the wheel the flexibility of the plastic material of the projections 22 permits these projections to flex as the clips are pushed through the wheel openings l2 into retaining cooperation with the parts of the wheel. Thus, the projections 22 are tightly urged outwardly against the base flange of the tire rim or in other words the clips 23 are wedged between the wheel body part and the projections 22 which are held against the base flange of the rim.

The trim 20 may be removed by manually gripping the outer edge 2| and pulling on the trim ring until the clips are forcibly pulled back through the openings l2. The flexible characteristics of the trim 20 permits of its being flexed without being permanently distorted. Moreover, should in the use of the trim the same become slightly indented by reason of being struck against a curb or by pebbles striking the same, the trim will spring back to its original contour. This is highly desirable since it enables the trim to always present a pleasing appearance and also serves to prolong the useful life of the trim.

In Figure 4 I have illustrated how two trim sections 20-40 can be fabricated from a single channeled piece of stock 30. This channeled member 30 is made from continuous section of plastic which may be fabricated on any suitable equipment and then cut into predetermined lengths. Each length then has its ends joined on a transverse line, such as the line 3i, so as to form a continuous annulus. Thereafter the annulus is cut on a medial plane so as to form two trim rings 20-20 each having oppositely facing projections 22 all of which are cut from the intermediate.

portion of the common channeled section 30. By fabricating the trim rings in this manner it is possible to make them very economically since waste is reduced to a minimum. Thereafter clips 23 are fastened to the projections 22.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of forming annular wheel cover members from elongated relatively thin plastic material which includes the steps of imparting the desired transverse cross-sectional configuration to the material, severing the material into pieces of prescribed length, joining the ends of such of the pieces to form an annulus of prescribed diameter having the initially formed transverse cross-sectional configuration, and severing the annulus around the generally axial central portion thereof to provide a pair of substantially identical cover members in which each member has a plurality of axially extending wheel 5 engaging spaced portions.

2. The method of forming annular wheel cover members from elongated relatively thin plastic material which includes the steps of imparting the desired transverse cross-sectional configuration to the material, severing the material into pieces of prescribed length, joining the ends of such of the pieces to form an annulus of prescribed diameter having the initially formed transverse cross-sectional configuration, and severing the annulus around the generally axial central portion thereof to provide a pair of substantially identical cover members in which each member has a plurality of axially extending wheel engaging spaced portions, and thereafter attaching to said portions metal clips for retaining each of the cover members on a wheel.

3. The method of forming annular wheel cover members from elongated relatively thin plastic material which includes the steps of imparting the desired transverse cross-sectional configuration to the material, severing the material into pieces of prescribed length, joining the endsj oi such of the pieces to form an annulus of prescribed diameter having the initially formed transverse cross-sectional configuration and severing the annulus along a tortuous medial line'to provide substantially identical cover membersjon each of which are spaced portions alternating with spaced portions on the other member.

4. The method of forming annular wheel cover members from elongated relatively thin plastic material which includes the steps of imparting the desired transverse cross-sectional configuration to the material, severing the material :into

pieces of prescribed length, joining the ends of such of the pieces to form an annulus of prescribed diameter having the initially formed transverse cross-sectional configuration and severing the annulus along a tortuous medial line to provide substantially identical cover members on each of which are spaced portions alternating with spaced portions on the other member and thereafter forming each of said spaced portions with snap-on retaining means to enable each cover member to be self-retained on a wheel.

5. The method of making an annular wheel trim member which comprises the steps of: forming thin plastic stock into a channel of substantially semi-circular cross-section, joining the ends of the channel to form a continuous annulus, and severing the channel annulus on a tortuous medial line through the root of the channel according to a predetermined pattern to separate the annulus into identical trim rings each of which has spaced portions extending in a generally axial direction along its severed edge and alternating with like spaced portions on its twin.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON. 

